Fern

Western Sword Fern

The young leaves of the fiddle ferns are collected in June. They are washed cleaned and steamed. They taste just like fresh spinach.

The fern roots are also edible. They look like bananas.

Now you boil them, but long ago, they used to cook them in native ground ovens. They made a hole and built a big fire in it. Then they put rocks in there and when the fire went down they placed the roots in the ground oven overnight.

In the morning, they would take them out and eat them. After the roots were washed and cleaned, some people sprinkle a little sugar on them before they ate them. Some people prefer to use salt instead of sugar. It is eaten by itself and not with other food.

It can be called an appetizer, or a snack which you can have between your main meals.